Quirks
by Rosie2009
Summary: A series of short skits of the oddities of Piper Wright and Nora (the sole survivor). All familial, friendship, besties feels. Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout...
1. Chapter 1

"What is the use in having a Takahashi Noodle Cup if you can't even eat it?!" Piper demanded, totally exasperated as she glared at the blue-clad woman sitting not too far from her.

Nora chuckled and shook her head, repositioning herself at a better angle on the stool in front of Takahashi's noodle bar to talk to her best friend.

"I didn't say you couldn't eat it, I just wanted you to try eating it without a fork for once and do it the traditional way," Nora chastised slightly, barely covering the growing smirk on her face as she effortlessly got a hunk of noodles with her chopsticks and placed it in her mouth at an agonizingly slow pace.

"Gah, now you're just showing off," Piper grumbled, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration as she tried to maneuver the two little sticks around some noodles. To her great frustration, the chopsticks ended up just pushing the noodles around the bowl. Piper furrowed her brow and looked at Nora with a murderous expression.

"Goodness, you should see the look on your face. It's enough to scare a Deathclaw. I quiver with fear," Nora put a hand over her eyes dramatically.

"You should be scared. I am a reporter after all. All you gotta do is make one wrong move and BAM! Your rear end's in the paper and everyone knows exactly what I didn't like."

"Geez, Piper. What are you going to write? 'Vault-Dweller Forces Diamond City Journalist to Use Chopsticks!' That'll really sell. Everyone certainly wants to hear about our petty dirty laundry," Nora sarcastically proclaimed, waving her hand in a sweeping gesture.

"You aren't even getting to the good and extreme dirty laundry. 'Drunken Reporter Cries on Vault-Dweller's Shoulder Over a Long-Healed Scar on Said Vault-Dweller's Hand!'"

"First of all, that was way too long to ever be a headline. Second of all, I thought we agreed never to speak of that again," Piper pointed at the vault-dweller as the reporter tried to stealthily sneak a few noodles into her mouth with her fingers.

Nora clicked her tongue in a scolding sound, obviously spotting Piper's attempt at surreptitiousness. Piper rolled her eyes but let the noodles fall back down to her bowl. She raised her eyebrows as if to ask, "Happy?"

Nora nodded in response and wound some noodles around her chopsticks as she averted her attention to her dish.

"Y'know, this is getting ridiculous, Blue. I can't work these useless twigs of torture. I need a fork!" Piper complained, huffing in exasperation as she stabbed at her noodles fruitlessly.

The older woman allowed a ghost of a smile to grace her lips in response to the struggle the young journalist was going through.

When she looked up from her bowl, she saw Piper staring at her intently, her green eyes boring holes into her own.

"Give me the fork," she said, her voice more serious than Nora had ever heard. It was almost laughable, Piper's gravity in the midst of such a joking situation.

Nora leaned forward toward the reporter, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips to match Piper's stern tone.

"On what authority are you requesting this?" Nora questioned, unable to keep the playful twinkle from her eyes.

"Give me the fork, DANGIT!" Piper cried out, lightly smacking the table with her hand.

Nora pulled back with a grin and pulled the fork from its place in her pistol holster. She held it out to the reporter and chuckled a bit at the speed in which Piper yanked it from her hand.

"Yes! Sweet! Now, you noodles, get away from my weapon of mass destruction, I dare you!" Piper laughed evilly, stabbing a chunk of stuck-together noodles and shoveling it in her mouth eagerly.

Nora chuckled to herself and shook her head with an affectionate smile as she amusedly watched the younger girl's antics.

"Never change, Piper."


	2. Chapter 2

_Pretty woman, walkin' down the street_

 _Pretty woman the kind I like to meet_

 _Pretty woman, I don't believe you, you're not the truth_

 _No one could look as good as you…_

 _Mercy!_

"Blue, would you please turn that crap off!" Piper complained, cradling her head in her hands as she could feel the impending headache.

It was at least the fourth time that she was forced to listen to the torturous song and its dreaded beat that played continuously. Or at least felt like it was never-ending.

By some unbelievable misfortune, Nora had come upon a holotape with an enormous collection of strange old songs Piper had never had the displeasure of listening to in her entire life.

Since the holotape was found, Nora had played different songs, but once she came upon this one, she wouldn't stop playing it over and over on her Pip-Boy. Very loudly.

The vault-dweller looked at the reporter, her eyes wide and innocent looking. Piper narrowed her eyes and threw an irritated glance toward the device on the older woman's wrist.

The brunette looked down at her arm blankly and turned the knob on it so that it wasn't playing anymore.

"Thank you," Piper sighed and rubbed her temple with her thumbs in an attempt to dispel the pain forming in her head.

"I take it you don't like that song?" Nora questioned, looking confused and albeit disappointed.

"Well, after listening to it three or four times, you kinda lose sight of any fondness you may have ever had for it," Piper told her, smiling wryly as she suppressed a groan of slight annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Piper… I didn't realize it was bothering you," Nora apologized, throwing her a remorseful look.

Piper nodded in response, giving her friend a sincere smile to wordlessly communicate that there were no hard feelings.

"It's just… Nate would play that song regularly in his Corvega back when we first got together." As soon as the older woman had mentioned her deceased husband, she had Piper's attention. The reporter looked down guiltily, feeling bad that she had opened her big mouth and demanded that Nora shut the song off. However, her gaze snapped back upward quickly after she heard the vault-dweller's voice sound once again.

"It was an ugly car, it really was. Bright green, too. Like so unbelievably, blindingly lime that it hurt your eyes to look at it. He'd drive by my apartment and pick me up after I was through with classes for the day, and every single time without fail, Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman' would be playing," Nora fondly recounted. The corners of Piper's lips quirked in a small smile.

"I guess the song just… reminds me of him and his goofy self," the vault-dweller reminisced, a bittersweet expression on her face.

"But don't worry about that. It's the past," Nora slowly tried out. Piper knew how hard it was for the brunette to face the facts that she'd never have any life like the one she left.

Nora crossed her arms and looked down at the ground, seeming to be absorbed in her own world. Piper's lips tightened into a tight line, displaying her worry. She furrowed her brow in contemplation, attempting to think of something that she could do to lift the vault-dweller's spirits.

It didn't take her long before she came up with the perfect idea.

"Hey, Blue, play another song. A really good one," Piper requested, smiling up at the slightly taller woman from her seated position.

"Well… Which one?" Nora asked, looking albeit confuse as she was shaken from her quiet reflection.

"Aw, what the heck? Any of them will do. It doesn't matter. You've got good taste. I trust you. Just as long as it's not Skeeter Davis. It's too sad. 'The End of the World' isn't a tune we really need right now," Piper smirked and raised a brow as she spoke. Nora rolled her eyes and grinned lopsidedly at the girl.

"Weeeell," Nora dragged out the word with a teasing expression, sticking her tongue out after she spoke, "I think I might have just the one." She fiddled with the Pip-Boy on her arm for a moment before she finally turned the knob that adjusted the volume.

 _What you want, baby, I got,_

 _What you need, do you know I got it_

 _All I'm askin' is for a little respect when you come home_

 _Hey, baby, when you get home_

Nora immediately began enthusiastically singing along and dancing to the beat as she resumed screwing a scope on her rifle. Piper hid the amused grin that was spreading like wildfire across her face behind the book she'd been reading.

However, despite her mirth at Nora's gusto, she somehow ended up humming along with the tune before long.

And judging by Nora's wide smile, she had certainly noticed and was definitely nowhere near as subtle with her merriment. Which was something Piper didn't really mind at all.


	3. Chapter 3

"Blue! Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, BLUE!" Nora heard Piper screech.

The vault-dweller immediately sprang to her feet, running in the direction that she heard the shouts coming from.

"Help me! It's going to get me! I'm too young to die!" Nora sped up, removing her laser rifle from its holster as she grew closer to the source of the screaming. It was coming from the inside of one of the old Sanctuary Hills houses.

With a sudden burst, Nora sprung through the doorway, her rifle aimed and ready to blast at whatever awful creep was going to kill her best friend. However, as soon as she spotted Piper, she lowered the rifle and rolled her eyes with a huff.

" _What_ are you doing?" Nora questioned, staring at the younger woman in front of her.

The reporter was currently perched on top of the counter and was clinging to a cabinet for support while fearfully staring down at the floor as if the most terrifying of beasts were down there waiting to gobble her up.

"Don't just stand there, it'll try to eat you too! Make good use of that blaster! Shoot it into next week!" Piper yelled, clinging tighter to the handle of the cabinet as she lifted one leg off the counter in pure terror.

Nora moved her gaze down to the miserable little creature on the ground. It was a poor, small hamster that had been completely stripped of hair save for several tufts barely clinging to its back.

With a glance in Piper's direction, Nora kneeled down and crawled carefully over to the animal in question.

"Come here, little buddy," the blue-clad woman gently spoke as she carefully but firmly scooped it up in her hands. It made no move to attack and seemed as harmless as it would have been before all the hazardous radiation.

Nora stood up, delicately cradling the hamster in her grasp. She looked at her best friend who was normally so calm and relaxed in such a petrified state. The brunette shook her head, watching Piper.

"So… I get the feeling you're scared of rats?" the vault-dweller questioned, raising an eyebrow as the beginnings of a smirk eased onto her face.

"Pssh, no. Of course not," Piper offendedly denied. Nora experimentally held the hamster out in Piper's direction, gauging the reporter's every move.

"Ah, gee, you need to, um-" Piper gulped, her eyes widening comically as Nora's outstretched hand drew closer, "put that thing down. Let it loose. Set it freeEEEEEK!" Piper squealed as Nora suddenly jabbed it in her direction. Nora cackled loudly, bringing the hamster back to her.

"Gah, Blue, that's not funny. Stop laughing! It could've torn me to shreds!" Piper proclaimed nigh hysterically as she clung onto the cabinets tighter than ever.

"Oh, come on, Piper, what could it do? Nibble your big toe off?" Nora asked, grinning widely as she gradually quieted her laughter. She strode over to the remnants of the little thing's cage and placed him gently in it, shutting the door on it gently.

"Well… Well, it's scary anyway," Piper defiantly proclaimed, huffing and lowering herself off of the counter. All the while she kept a close eye on the creature in the cage.

When she was finally on the floor, Nora shook her head with amusement.

She ambled over to Piper and patted the younger girl's cheek gently with a golden-tanned hand.

"It's okay. I completely respect and understand that you're afraid of them," Nora told her, putting her hands on Piper's shoulders. Piper smiled appreciatively and brought her hands up to cover her friend's.

"But you won't mind if I put you in charge of feeding Squeaks, will you?"

" _Blue_!"

"I know. Pushing my luck, got it."


	4. Chapter 4

"Aw, no!" Nora complained, and Piper followed her gaze, recognizing the familiar swirl of clouds that indicated the beginnings of one of the usual spontaneous radiation storms.

"Well, crap. That ruins the plan of getting to Jamaica Plain before sundown, huh?" Piper groaned, glancing about in an attempt to spot some sort of shelter.

"Let's go there," Nora told her, grabbing Piper's wrist and pulling her in her wake. Piper looked ahead and saw that they were headed for a small, raggedy shed that was barely enough cover for the rad-storm's assault.

Nora released Piper's arm once they got to the door. The vault-dweller wound her hand over her shoulder and pulled her shotgun from its place on her back.

The brunette looked the reporter in the eye and jerked her chin in the direction of the door, readying her gun as she prepared to aim.

Piper nodded silently in response, drawing her pistol from her side. Nora threw her a questioning look and Piper interpreted that she was asking if the journalist was prepared.

Piper shrugged her shoulders, signifying her agreement.

Nora then shoved the door open, immediately barging in with her gun at the ready. Piper followed along closely, flanking the slightly taller woman.

She scoured the room quickly with a glance. There were a few bags of fertilizer and some old rusty tools, but other than that, there weren't any signs of life. The vault-dweller lowered her gun and placed it back in its original place.

A boom of thunder resounded throughout the tiny shelter, and Nora ambled over to a spot in the corner of the shed. Piper watched as the woman plopped down on the ground and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. She followed suit and sat down heavily beside her, resting her arms on her knees as she reclined against the wooden structure.

The reporter glanced at the vault-dweller's face. Her brow was furrowed in a serious expression and she overall just seemed a bit on edge. Piper knew that the rad-storms scared Nora a bit, despite the fact that the brunette would never admit it.

Piper looked around the shed, trying to find something that could be a topic of conversation.

To her great disappointment, the entire room was devoid of anything that could be even slightly intriguing. Suddenly, the reporter remembered the bubblegum in her pocket. Perhaps it would distract Nora and keep her from getting so nervous.

Piper cocked her elbow to the side, sticking a hand in her pocket to pull out the package of gum. However, as soon as she did that, her elbow accidentally bumped into Nora's side. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but it was a bit firm.

As soon as Piper opened her mouth to mutter an apology, she heard a small, quick huff come from the woman beside her. Piper narrowed her eyes, raising an eyebrow. She purposefully rummaged through her coat pocket, bumping Nora's side again to gauge her reaction.

Nora huffed again, but this time it was a bit harder and her lips trembled a bit.

Piper was starting to understand exactly the response that she was getting from the golden-tanned woman and, with her eyes on Nora's face, she poked her side.

"Piper, don't do that," Nora grounded out lowly in response to the reporter's experimental prod, her face contorted into a steely expression and her teeth gritted.

"Why?" Piper questioned, an increasingly growing sly smirk consuming her features. She evilly shifted her glance from the brunette's face to her ribcage.

"Because I don't want you to."

"Why don't you?"

"Just do what I- HAHAHAHAHA! Stop, please! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Piper, stop!" Nora cried out, trying to stop the assault of wiggling fingers on her sides.

"Aha! You're ticklish! I am so using this to my advantage!" Piper cheekily announced, relentlessly assailing Nora's ribcage.

"Would you please- please stop?!" Nora begged between laughs, trying desperately to cover every sensitive spot on her torso.

"Well," Piper stopped moving her fingers but kept her hands firmly in place on the vault-dweller, "I guess since you asked nicely, I'll have mercy on you," Piper told her and removed her hands from the woman, folding the appendages on her knees.

Nora leaned back, recovering from the giggles and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

"But, I'm definitely going to remember this little tidbit of info. Just keep that in mind," Piper smiled happily with a mischievous glint in her eyes, proud of the fact that she had actually succeeded in distracting her friend from the outside conditions.

"Noted. _And_ defenses are officially in place."


	5. Chapter 5

"And that was the last time that I went out with that guy. What kind of a freak tells his date that she makes his nose twitch?" Piper questioned, finishing up her story as the twosome travelled down the broken paved road. Nora shrugged with an amused grin.

"I don't know. I had a guy tell me that I buttered his eggroll. Whatever that meant," Nora recounted, chuckling a bit.

"That's kinda weird, too," Piper agreed with a laugh.

 _Meow_!

"What was that noise?" Nora questioned.

"I dunno," Piper replied, and the two women looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

"Aha. There's your culprit," Piper pointed with a roll of her eyes.

Nora followed Piper's finger and her eyes widened in surprise at the sight that met her eyes. A tiny, awfully malnourished kitten was standing beside a fallen garbage can, sadly sounding its displeasure and unhappiness at an astounding volume.

"Aww, Piper, a poor, little kitten," Nora cooed, squatting down and extending her hand carefully.

"Yeah. A cat. Well, we figured out your missing sound. Let's hit the road," Piper told her, grabbing the vault-dweller's arm and attempting to pull her up and along behind her. Nora hardly heard her and instead was completely focused on the animal not far from her.

At her apparent lack of success at pulling the vault-dweller away, Piper put her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow.

"Uh… Blue? You coming?" Nora was still nearly entirely consumed with the kitten's sad plight.

"Why are we wasting our time with this? It's just a cat," Piper finally said frustratedly. That statement drew Nora from her reverie, and she turned to look at Piper with a scornful frown.

"You could be a bit more sympathetic," Nora told her, scolding laced in the undertones of her speech.

"It's a _poor_ cat. Happy?"

"Come here, baby. Come here," Nora gently called, attempting to sweetly coax the kitten into approaching her, and she diverted her attention from the reporter.

Nora heard Piper huff exasperatedly, briskly walking off. For just a moment, Nora glanced in Piper's direction to ensure the reporter wasn't going far. When she spotted her leaning against a wall of a nearby crumbling house, Nora smiled a bit and returned to her task of charming the kitten.

To her great surprise, the kitten had gotten closer to her and was looking at her, wide-eyed and nervous.

"Yes, angel, that's it. I'm not going to hurt you," Nora told it softly, smiling lovingly.

It looked at her with its pitiful expression and inched a bit nearer until it finally touched her fingers with its nose.

"There you go. That's it," Nora reassured, moving her hand carefully and gently stroking its back. It immediately warmed to her hand and began purring loudly, rubbing happily against the appendage.

Nora grinned widely, gently scooping up the kitten and cuddling it. It gladly snuggled into her embrace and softly kneaded the material of her suit.

She could feel her heart melting with its innocent sweetness. At that moment, she thought of the woman waiting not too far from her and how she seemed to be less than enthused with the idea.

Nora nuzzled the kitten and turned with a determined expression, heading for the reporter. The golden-tanned woman fully intended to persuade Piper to love the kitten as much as she did.

Nora walked up to Piper and stood in front of her, cradling the kitten in her arms.

Piper never looked up and instead seemed to have gained a sudden interest in her nails. At that, Nora simply held the kitten out for Piper to take.

The entire time, Piper remained looking down at her fingers.

The vault-dweller knew exactly what she was trying to do and she stepped a little closer to the reporter. The kitten reached its paw out and touched the younger girl's nose.

Piper immediately looked up. Nora grinned widely, raising an eyebrow.

To Nora's great surprise, the shorter woman's face began to contort into a horrid expression. Nora's eyes widened in surprise and she flinched a bit when a giant sneeze erupted from Piper.

The kitten shook its head vigorously in response, and Nora drew the kitten back to her chest.

After that sneeze came several more. Piper sniffled and wiped her nose with a fingerless glove.

"I'd really like it i-i-i-ACHOO! If you wouldn't put it in my face any more," Piper groaned, sniffing hard.

"Piper… Are you allergic?" Nora questioned, concern covering her face.

"Yeah, I am. I've been allergic to cats for as long as I can remember," Piper told her, her nose sounding stuffy.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get your sneezer riled up." Piper chuckled lowly in response.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It'll get better when I get away from the cat," she replied to the vault-dweller.

"But we can't just leave it out here," Nora said, looking at the small animal on her chest with a worried expression.

"You could give it to Curie. She'd love it," Piper sniffed, scratching at her nose.

Nora grinned widely, bringing Piper into a hug with the little kitten in the middle.

"You're a genius, Piper!" Nora complimented, holding her against her.

"Tha-ACHOO! Thank you. You think you could let me go? The cat's all up in my space." Nora drew away quickly, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Sorry."


	6. Chapter 6

"I love this thing," Nora told Piper, snatching the press cap right off of her head as they relaxed on Nora's old couch. Piper watched incredulously with an eyebrow raised as Nora put it on her own cranium.

"Uh… Why?" Piper questioned, running her fingers through her hair. It was a foreign feeling, to not have her hat on her head.

"It's just so cool. I've never seen another one like it," Nora enthused, seeming to be totally enamored with the hat.

"Okay… I'm glad you like it."

"Watch this!" Nora exclaimed gleefully. Piper stared as Nora arranged her expression in a smirking, half-lidded look. "Hey, innocent-vault-dweller-I-just-met. I'm Piper Wright and I like to poke things- and people- with a stick," Nora spoke in a poor attempt to imitate the reporter.

Piper rolled her eyes with a small grin and grabbed ahold of the bill of the cap, pulling it over the vault-dweller's eyes.

"Careful. Danse is likely to think you're some kind of synth copy left over from the Institute."

"Well, sorry. But it's not every day that I get to wear _the_ Piper Wright headdress," Nora said, peering over at Piper from under the hat. It was nearly laughable, seeing Nora with the hat covering her brow and her face angled up so Piper could barely see her eyes under it.

"It's sorta creepy just how much you like that thing."

"Oh, don't worry, it's not just yours. I love MacCready's hat and Danse's hood, too," Nora admitted, fixing the press cap on her head so that she could look at Piper without craning her head in an uncomfortable position.

"And she's got some kind of a hat fetish," Piper quipped, a bit of a grin on her face as she gestured at Nora.

"Hardy, har. You are hilarious. But seriously. I want one of these."

"Well, I don't know where you're gonna get one," Piper told her, shrugging her shoulders as she pushed her back further into the seat.

"Where'd you get yours?" Nora suddenly inquired, looking very interested. Piper couldn't help but admit that the hat really did somehow compliment Nora's seriousness. Of course, it was likely one of those Nora things. She managed to make a lot of styles look good. Her face was like that.

"I found it," Piper stated simply, smirking at Nora's slightly exasperated expression.

"Yeah. But where?" Nora huffed.

"It was a long time ago. In a dumpster behind some Prewar clothes joint," Piper recounted. "I liked it, so I dusted it off and put it on my head."

"Where was the clothes joint?"

"Well, actually it wasn't too far from Diamond City."

"Let's go," Nora told her, immediately rising from her spot on the couch.

"Now?" Piper questioned, her eyes wide as she started getting up. She could hardly believe that Nora wanted to go investigate immediately.

"Yeah. We gotta get a head start if we're making it before nightfall," Nora grinned down at the reporter, reaching for her hand and pulling her up. With the force of the tug, Piper hopped up on her feet.

"Okay, but there's one problem," Piper said, raising an eyebrow. Nora stopped and stared at her, seeming completely confused and surprised.

"What?"

"You're wearing my hat."

"Oh! Sorry…"


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, I've got a question, Blue," Piper announced to the vault-dweller, looking at her with a bit of a worried expression.

"Shoot."

"Do you think I'm short?" Nora was currently in the middle of taping a knife to the end of her shotgun. She stopped and thought it over for a moment.

"You're not short, Piper. You're just… vertically challenged," Nora playfully told the younger girl behind her who was, unbeknownst to Nora prior to the vault-dweller's previous statement, very miffed.

"I know what you're saying. I am not some kind of an idiot. Do I look like an idiot? No, no I do not. So, don't treat me like one."

"Why are you even worried about this? I seriously think you're average height," Nora sincerely said, looking over her shoulder at Piper with a loving smile.

"Well… It's going to sound stupid, but… Nat's got a growth spurt lately and I'm worried about being shorter than her," Piper admitted, looking down at the ground with a bit of a blush on her face.

"And why does that matter?" Nora questioned, sitting the roll of duct tape in her hand down on the worktable and turning to face the reporter to get a fuller focus on the conversation.

"Because I'm supposed to be the big sister. Note the _big_ in that statement." Nora raised an eyebrow, shaking her head.

"Piper, it doesn't matter what size you are. You're older than she is and therefore the big sister," Nora explained tilting her head to the side as she tried to better understand the issue.

"I guess you're right… I just… I've got this height complex that just won't quit," Piper lowly spoke, stepping a little closer to the vault-dweller in what she guessed was an attempt to avoid being overheard.

"Piper, I promise that none of us think you're short," Nora reassured with a smile. It really was ridiculous for Piper to think that she was anything but the perfect height.

"Cait thinks so."

"Well, Cait's taller than all of us. And she's also a little mean, in case you haven't noticed," Nora stage-whispered with a grin. Piper rolled her eyes with a smile.

"That's the understatement of the year."

"There's the Piper I know and love. Now cheer up. Let's go and get some food for these hungry Jacks," Nora pronounced, throwing her arm around the younger girl's shoulder as they started off for an adventure.

"Uh, Blue?"

"Yes?"

"Prewar terminology."

"Oops."


	8. Chapter 8

"You're one sick puppy, you know that?" Piper questioned, rolling her eyes in disgust and cringing.

Nora was currently very diligently stacking mole rat bones in an intricate, miniscule structure that resembled some sort of tower. To be more specific, mole rat toenails.

Much to Piper's aggravation, the vault-dweller wasn't listening to a word that was said to her and she simply squinted her eyes in the utmost concentration, placing one of the bones inside the hole on the very top.

"I think I've finally finished, Piper," Nora murmured, staring intently at her creation. Piper huffed a bit with a humorless chuckle.

"Good. Now I can get you out of creep city back into the real world." The reporter folded her arms over her chest, bringing her Nuka-Cola to her lips and taking a long swig.

"Is this the same world that's crawling with gnarled feral ghouls that would love nothing more than to maul you? Or bloodbugs just waiting to jab their sucker into you?" Nora questioned, smirking a bit at the younger girl's expense.

"Indeed, but at least it's standard and overall expected. Whatever you're doing right now certainly does not meet the qualifications for normal," Piper retorted with a huff. Nora suddenly put a hand over the journalist's mouth, successfully covering it.

Piper scowled and seriously considered licking the brunette's palm, but she refrained. The temptation was very much still there, though.

"Don't breathe too hard. You'll knock over my Eiffel Tower," Nora told her, giving her a wide-eyed expression of worry.

Piper scrunched her nose in confusion, narrowing her eyes as she pried the golden-tanned woman's hand from her mouth.

"Your awful what?" Piper asked quizzically, completely befuddled.

Nora looked blankly at her for a moment, her jaw slack. After only a moment, however, she started laughing at the reporter.

"Eiffel, Pipes, not awful," she corrected, still chuckling. Piper raised an eyebrow.

"And just what is that?" Piper questioned. Nora shook her head, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her laughter.

"The Eiffel Tower was a grand structure from another country called France," Nora informed, a gentle smile playing on her lips. Piper nodded, looking at the odd structure composed entirely of claws.

"Another country… Kind of like the Capital Wasteland as opposed to the Commonwealth?"

"Sort of. Except that France and America were divided by a great ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, actually. The Eiffel Tower was designed by a company owned by Gustave Eiffel, hence its namesake. It was exactly one-thousand sixty-three feet to the very tip of the structure. I would have loved to have seen it."

"You seem to be a real expert on it," Piper complimented, seeing the grotesque, gory replicas in a completely different manner now that there was an explanation behind it.

"Yeah. It was a hobby I had. Studying great structures and making popsicle-stick models of them. At one point, my house was so filled with them that Nate insisted we sell some of them. Incredibly, I made quite a profit off of them. I never would've thought that they would've been such a highly desired item.

"That was the way people were back then, though. They really liked things that were hand-made. I guess it's because we all were so used to looking at robotic things and electronics. We wanted something different to look at," Nora shrugged a bit, caught up in her reminiscing as she absently stared at her little model.

Piper reached over and put her hand on her shoulder. This seemed to shake the older woman from her reverie and she looked up at Piper as if she had just remembered where she was.

"But enough about the past. Where do you suggest that we put this?" Nora inquired, obviously attempting to shake herself from the painfully bittersweet memories of the past.

Piper eyed her with a soft expression, smiling softly as she removed her hand from the blue-clad woman's shoulder. She thought silently for a moment, contemplating the question presented to her.

Suddenly, the best idea occurred to her.

"Y'know, I could use something to spruce up my office. An Awful Tower would be something interesting to look at," Piper joked, grinning over at Nora.

"Really?" The hopeful look on the vault-dweller's face was enough to melt the journalist's heart.

"Of course. Now, how are we going to move it?" Piper asked, cocking her head to an angle to try to better perceive how she might grab the thing.

Nora stroked her chin with a hand, pondering for a moment.

"Well… I really don't have a clue."


	9. Chapter 9

"Good grief, I'm wasting away, Blue. Wasting away, I tell you," Piper complained, dramatically sighing. Nora rolled her eyes and searched through her quickly waning reserve of patience for a kind response.

However, after at least the seventh time that Piper had whined about her lack of sweets, Nora couldn't hardly take it anymore. Seriously, how many people had such a serious sugar problem?

And the strangest part was that it had come on all of a sudden in the middle of the wasteland countryside where there was certainly no chance of finding any sweets at all. Piper had absolutely impeccable timing.

"You've already eaten all of what was in my pack. I can't help the situation any more than I already have, I'm afraid," Nora calmly recited once again.

"This'll be a brutal way to die. Out in the Commonwealth. Starving. Alone."

"Not alone, but certainly starving," Nora corrected, resisting the urge to groan at Piper's fussing.

"No, not alone, I guess. See, it's the hunger getting to me. I'm delirious,"

"I've got water, leftover noodles from Takahashi's, and some roasted radstag. Take your pick," Nora offered, knowing that wasn't at all what Piper was wanting but she was hoping the younger girl would maybe take it.

"Not hungry like that! Hungry for sweets. I have a sweet-roll-sized hole in my stomach."

"It's a good thing that they don't have chocolate in the world today, or you'd really be having a problem," Nora proclaimed.

She then licked her slightly chapped lips. Come to think of it, it would be nice to have some chocolate. Nora mentally slapped herself. She needed to get a grip or she'd be as desperate and dramatic as Piper before long.

But it really would be good…

"Chocolate? What's that?" Piper questioned curiously and Nora grit her teeth, trying desperately to fight her craving for the sweet, mouth-watering treat.

"Don't even ask. You're going to get me as worked up as you are or more," Nora brushed her off, trying really hard to contain her sudden absurd desire for chocolate.

"No, no, I think I want to hear about this," Piper insisted, and Nora quickly felt the tingling of that special sense that warned of the dangers of a mischievous Piper.

"Please don't. I'm already feeling the effects from just thinking about it. We need one of us to be sensible or we're both going to go to pot," Nora tried to shut her down once again.

"C'mon. I can't get any worse than I already am, and you're theoretically supposed to be more controlled than me," Piper smugly told her, raising an eyebrow challengingly. Nora eyed her out of the corner of her vision, feeling herself a little tempted by the dare.

It was childish, but she couldn't resist a good challenge. And judging by Piper's expression, she knew it as well.

Nora launched into her description with the knowledge that, assuredly, Piper was going to eat her words.

"Chocolate was quite possibly the most mouth-watering, tempting treat in America. It was infinitely tastier than anything that you have ever eaten here in the Commonwealth."

"Better than a sweet roll?" Piper asked, and Nora saw the almost hungry look in her eye. It was familiar. A little too familiar. A whirlwind of memories flew into her mind at that sight.

Chocolate cakes, chocolate truffles, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate-deprivation headaches, chocolate stomachaches. That hunger she saw in Piper was the exact same feeling she used to get when she was in desperate need of chocolate.

It was growing harder and harder to resist whining about chocolate.

"Ten times better than a sweet roll," Nora told her, looking away and slightly biting her lip.

"Wow. Sounds really, _really_ good," Piper emphasized just how delectable it sounded and Nora knew it was a poorly disguised attempt to fight her in their current challenge.

"It was like all the good things in life rolled into one irresistible candy-sized package. Its smell was the comforting aroma of home, its taste was the sweetness of family, and the ache after too much was like the bittersweet parting of close friends," Nora countered, holding back a smirk because she knew that she had this battle of the wills in the bag.

"Hmm. I really wish I had some. It sounds absolutely irresistible. Like the most mouth-watering delicacy that I could ever have," Piper tempted, and Nora caught the devious smile that was adorning the younger girl's visage.

Nora sharply inhaled as her stomach growled loudly, and at that moment, she knew she had lost.

"YES! I knew I'd get you to react!" Piper excitedly shouted, performing a ridiculous victory dance. It reminded Nora of the disco days that she, very fortunately, had been lucky enough to mostly miss. The bombs fell not too long after it had become widely popular.

"Aren't you just a humble winner?"

"And aren't you just a gracious loser?" Piper gleefully shot back, a wild grin on her face. Nora rolled her eyes, feeling her stomach rumble again.

"I thought I'd tell you thank you, by the way," Nora grumbled, her stomach loudly sounding off again.

"For what?"

"For humbly passing on the sweets craving to me."


	10. Chapter 10

"Have you ever wondered if you could ride a Brahmin to get where you need to go quicker?" Nora questioned, her oddly serious and solemn gaze trained upon one of the two-headed cows roaming at the outskirts of Sanctuary Hills.

Piper raised an eyebrow, turning her gaze to the radiated animals before them. Honestly, she had never thought about it before. She really didn't even think it was possible.

"Did Hancock slip a little something in your lunch?" Piper questioned, chuckling a bit with a weirded out look on her face. She couldn't help but wonder how many sane people would just randomly think to ride a cow? She had heard of horses, the Pre-War animal that people commonly rode for fun, but never a cow to ride.

"No, you know I'd never let him do that. Despite how convinced he is that I need a good rush," Nora glanced at her for a moment and then resumed her evaluation of the creatures.

"It's just I think you'd have to be high or really stupid to try to ride a Brahmin. I mean if you wanna try it, be my guest. I personally don't think it's one of your smartest ideas, but I'd love to see you try it out. But wait for me to get my camera. I want some pictures of you getting thrown off for my personal collection," Piper told her, digging through her pack intending to withdraw her camera to capture the vault-dweller in the midst of her most insane plan yet.

Piper sifted through the bag, looking through various pockets and compartments. She found her notebook, a few sweet rolls, some sticky unidentifiable objects, and a pencil, but there was no sign of her camera.

Shortly after her fruitless efforts at finding the camera, Piper then remembered that she had left it at home in Diamond City. She resisted the urge to groan loudly in frustration with her plight. After all, she rarely used the camera, so she had very little reason to carry the additional bulk around with her. But she definitely needed it now if Nora was going to do something so stupid as ride a Brahmin.

"Hey, Piper," Nora spoke, and Piper turned around. However, she was definitely not prepared to behold the sight just behind her.

Before her very eyes was Nora seated calmly on a Brahmin's back, her legs clutching at the creature's sides tightly so that she wouldn't fall off. Perhaps the most amazing part was that the cow was completely docile and never made a move to fight the blue-clad woman.

Nora clicked her tongue and Piper watched as the cow ambled forward willingly toward the reporter.

"And you were saying what about me falling?" Piper stood there, blubbering in amazement.

"No. Frickin'. Way. How did you do that?!" Piper questioned when she was finally able to speak, her eyes wide as she walked to the side of Nora's mount. Nora smirked down at her, her eyes half-lidded.

"Talent. You wanna get on?" Nora offered, extending a hand down to the girl on the ground. Piper took it gladly and placed her other hand on the cow's back. With the vault-dweller's assistance and her own efforts, Piper quickly hoisted herself on top of the animal. It shifted underneath the two and she automatically grasped Nora's biceps, worrying about it finally deciding to dump them both off.

After a moment, however, she let go and settled for placing both hands behind her to hold herself.

"Huh. I must admit that you certainly don't look like a bovine whisperer," Piper told her, grinning wildly with the pure thrill that was sitting on a powerful beast that had the capability to throw her off and trample her.

"Don't judge a book by her cover, Pipes. I thought you'd probably know that better than most," Nora cast her one of those almost motherly affectionate looks that Piper so loved to earn.

"Well, you don't."

"Hmm. What do you say we go and show everybody our majestic steed?" Nora questioned, lightly spurring the cow as she looked back at Piper.

"Let's do it!"


	11. Chapter 11

"What are you writing so intently?" Nora inquired, staring at the reporter not too far from her with a curious expression.

Her curiosity only increased when she saw Piper's blush and sheepish grin. She raised an eyebrow in silent questioning.

"Nothing. Nothing important, I mean. Just some story ideas I've come up with from what we've seen on this journey," Piper told her, averting her eyes from the paper and certainly avoiding Nora's gaze. Nora couldn't help but think that Piper was lying.

Piper's strange reaction just fueled her belief that whatever it was certainly, assuredly _something_. Something that Nora needed to know about. After all, it was a rare day that Piper Wright sat around randomly grinning to herself and giggling of all things.

They had been on this journey for three days and every time that they stopped for a break, Piper began scribbling on her notepad like a madwoman.

She needed to find out what was written on that pad. Desperately.

Nora looked at her surroundings seemingly idly, glancing at one thing or another in silent contemplation of what she could possibly use to distract the younger girl from her writing. After a moment of unsuccessful searching, however, she spotted a Nuka-Cola machine just across the road at a old broken down building. When she narrowed her eyes a bit to see better from the glare of the sun, it appeared as if it could possibly have a beverage still stored inside.

She subtly glanced at Piper, checking to see if she had seen any of Nora's actions. Obviously, she had not due to the fact that her nose was still stuffed in that little notebook. With that knowledge, Nora began her theatrics.

"Hmm," Nora hummed in mock thought, squinting her eyes and leaning forward in the direction of the Nuka-Cola vending machine. "What- is that a…?" She saw Piper move in the corner of her eye and Nora knew that Piper's gaze was trained on her.

"Darn this sun," Nora muttered, covering her eyes a bit as she peered over at the machine in an attempt to look concentrated.

"Wait… Oh, cool! Hey, Piper, I think there's a Nuka-Cola over there in that machine!" Nora told her with a sincere- or what she hoped appeared sincere- smile.

Piper's attention immediately shifted to the machine and she laid her notepad down on the table.

"Good eye! Be right back, I'm going to get it. I'll bet it still tastes good after all this time. They always are better with a little age and rads to them," Piper got up and strode in the direction of the Nuka Cola machine.

As soon as Piper reached the edge of the road nearest to Nora, she quickly snagged the pad and assumed a casual position, reading the writing.

" _Beauty rest for you, beauty rest for me,_

" _Some of us need it more than others, you see_

" _Hancock is beyond repair, MacCready needs a ton,_

" _Whereas Piper and Nora certainly need none_

" _Curie is pretty, Cait is ugly as homemade sin,_

" _It's too bad that none of these poor wastelanders even have a chance to win,_

" _Nora is beautiful, and Piper is hot,_

" _Too bad all of the other girls are not_

" _But one must take pity, after all, they cannot help their plight_

" _It is truly sad when one can only stand to look at someone when they're not in the light_

" _That is when you know, you've picked up an ugly thug_

" _We're lucky Nora hasn't dredged up a giant bug_

" _The- at times- morally questionable company she keeps occasionally leaves something to be desired,_

" _Especially since Nora is so admired_

" _For being the hero of the Commonwealth, see?_

" _Are you lucky as me to have a friend like she?_ "

"What are you doing?!" Piper yelped, her eyes wide as she leapt in a desperate attempt to snatch the notepad from Nora.

"What's wrong, Piper? After all, it's just ideas for the paper, right?" Nora grinned evilly and Piper stopped, her face rapidly turning red.

"Hmm… 'Cait is ugly as homemade sin' and 'Piper is hot.' A little harsh toward Cait, don't you think? But I'm sure the readers will love a little drama," the older woman teased and allowed Piper to take the notepad out of her hands.

"Why would you do that?!" Piper demanded irritably, tucking the notepad in her pocket. She was beginning to worry that she had went too far. Nora searched Piper's face and quickly noticed that she didn't seem offended, merely somewhat miffed and primarily just very embarrassed which was a relief.

"Because I knew you were lying. And Piper Wright does not lie."

"What if it was stuff that would mortify us both?" Nora knew the reporter was speaking hypothetically, but she couldn't resist messing with her a little bit.

"You've written me _inappropriately_ , too?! Was it with Danse? Or was it with Hancock? Please not Hancock!"

"No! ARGH!" Piper stomped off, her arms crossed over her chest as she huffed.

Nora just laughed.


End file.
